back issue

(back issuesplural)A back issue of a magazine or newspaper is one that was published some time ago and is not the most recent.n-count
(=back number)

Translation English Cobuild Collins Dictionary &nbsp

back[1](ADVERB USES)In addition to the uses shown below, back is also used in phrasal verbs such as `date back' and `fall back on'.Please look at category 17 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.

1advIf you move back, you move in the opposite direction to the one in which you are facing or in which you were moving before.ADV after v, oft ADV prepThe photographers drew back to let us view the body..., She stepped back from the door expectantly..., He pushed her away and she fell back on the wooden bench...

2advIf you go back somewhere, you return to where you were before.ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prep/advI went back to bed..., I'm due back in London by late afternoon..., Smith changed his mind and moved back home..., I'll be back as soon as I can..., He made a round-trip to the terminal and back.

3advIf someone or something is back in a particular state, they were in that state before and are now in it again.ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prepThe rail company said it expected services to get slowly back to normal..., Denise hopes to be back at work by the time her daughter is one...

4advIf you give or put something back, you return it to the person who had it or to the place where it was before you took it. If you get or take something back, you then have it again after not having it for a while.ADV after v, oft ADV prepShe handed the knife back..., Put it back in the freezer..., You'll get your money back.

5advIf you put a clock or watch back, you change the time shown on it so that it shows an earlier time, for example when the time changes to winter time or standard time.ADV after v

6advIf you write or call back, you write to or telephone someone after they have written to or telephoned you. If you look back at someone, you look at them after they have started looking at you.ADV after v, oft ADV prepThey wrote back to me and they told me that I didn't have to do it..., If the phone rings say you'll call back after dinner..., Lee looked at Theodora. She stared back.

7advYou can say that you go or come backto a particular point in a conversation to show that you are mentioning or discussing it again.ADV after v, ADV to nCan I come back to the question of policing once again?..., Going back to the school, how many staff are there?

8advIf something is or comes back, it is fashionable again after it has been unfashionable for some time.ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV prepShort skirts are back..., Consensus politics could easily come back into fashion.

9advIf someone or something is kept or situated backfrom a place, they are at a distance away from it.ADV after v, be ADV, oft ADV from nKeep back from the edge of the platform..., I'm a few miles back from the border..., He started for Dot's bedroom and Myrtle held him back.

10advIf something is held or tied back, it is held or tied so that it does not hang loosely over something.ADV after vThe curtains were held back by tassels.

11advIf you lie or sit back, you move your body backwards into a relaxed sloping or flat position, with your head and body resting on something.ADV after v(Antonym: forward)
She lay back and stared at the ceiling..., She leaned back in her chair and smiled.

12advIf you look or shout back at someone or something, you turn to look or shout at them when they are behind you.ADV after v, oft ADV prepNick looked back over his shoulder and then stopped, frowning..., He called back to her.

13advYou use back in expressions like back in London or back at the house when you are giving an account, to show that you are going to start talking about what happened or was happening in the place you mention.ADV with v, ADV prepMeanwhile, back in London, Palace Pictures was collapsing..., Later, back at home, the telephone rang.

14advIf you talk about something that happened back in the past or several years back, you are emphasizing that it happened quite a long time ago.ADV with v, ADV prep, n ADV(emphasis)
The story starts back in 1950, when I was five..., He contributed £50m to the project a few years back.

15advIf you think backto something that happened in the past, you remember it or try to remember it.ADV after v, ADV to nI thought back to the time in 1975 when my son was desperately ill...

16If someone moves back and forth, they repeatedly move in one direction and then in the opposite direction.♦
back and forthphrasePHR after vHe paced back and forth...

1. shoot with a firearm using a type of cartridge that contains gunpowder but neither bullet nor pellet. 2. [slang][fig.] be infertile and unlikely to impregnate a woman (due to various issues such as a low sperm count)

1.The squaddies were training, shooting blanks
2.We had been trying to have a baby for ages until a series of fertility tests revealed I was shooting blanks.

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